Harry Potter and the Dark Lord's Castle
by da'rider
Summary: Harry potter in his fifth year, check it out and review it. Thanks to all of those who have reviewed it already, I will continue updating this story as often as possible. I have fixed the problems that were in chapter 2, thanks to the people who told me a
1. The Midnight Visitor

  
  
  
  
Harry Potter and the Dark Lord's Castle  
Chapter 1  
The Midnight Visitor  
  
Like most children in the world Harry Potter was on summer vacation, Harry however wasn't on vacation from any normal school, he was on vacation from Hogwarts: school of witchcraft and wizardry. Harry hated his life with his only relations, the Dursleys a very muggle family whose fear of magic was only overshadowed by their fear that someone would find out that their nephew was a wizard. Harry wished that he could go and live anywhere but his aunt and uncle's house for the summer, but Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts had refused, saying it was safer that he stay at the Dursleys because that was the one place that Lord Voldemort couldn't enter. Harry wanted to go and stay with the Weasleys but Dumbledore had refused, Harry had written him countless letters by owl post asking for permission to stay with any of his friends.   
Unfortunately Dumbledore was having his own troubles, the Ministry of Magic was refusing to believe that Lord Voldemort was back and Cornelius Fudge the Minister of Magic was refusing to tell people about the return of Voldemort for fear of creating a widespread panic. Contrary to what the Ministry of Magic was saying however, Lord Voldemort, the most evil dark wizard in a millennia had returned to power. Harry knew of this because he had witnessed the rebirth of Voldemort after he had won the triwizard cup at the end of his fourth year. Harry knew that Voldemort was out there somewhere regaining the power he had lost and making new allies to restart his war against the Ministry of Magic. Harry also knew that his friends were out there fighting Voldemort and trying to recruit allies for the coming war against Voldemort. Harry was worried about his friends Sirius Black, Hagrid and even his teacher Professor Snape, all of who had agreed to help in the fight against Voldemort over the summer.   
Harry also missed his friends from Hogwarts, his two best friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley were sending him letters almost daily keeping him up to date on the wizarding world. Harry continued thinking about how much he missed the wizarding world when he saw a large black shadow cross over a house nearby. Harry couldn't make out what it was, but when it crossed over a street lamp he saw that it was really a broom and the man flying the broom was none other than... Sirius. Harry threw open the window and stepped back to allow him to enter. Sirius flew through the window a moment later.  
Harry took one look at the blackened and burnt robes and knew that this visit wasn't a social call.   
"Sirius, What happened?" Harry asked while he moved out of the way to allow Sirius to sit on the bed.  
"We were attacked." Sirius said wearily "We were lying low at Lupin's, like Dumbledore instructed, we were waiting for Dumbledore to contact us when the Death Eaters attacked. They killed Mundungus Fletcher while we were escaping." His voice cracked as he finished his story.   
"So, what are you doing here?" Harry asked   
"We needed another place to hide out so we chose Arabella Figg's house so that we could keep on eye on you."   
"Arabella Figg? You mean Mrs. Figg? She's a witch? How come I never knew? How come she never told me?" Harry said all of this very quickly.  
"She wasn't allowed to tell you, she was part of the protection that Dumbledore arranged for when your parents were killed. She was your Mum's best friend, she volunteered to protect you to fulfill her duties as godmother."  
"Godmother? She's my Godmother?" Harry asked dumbfounded   
"Yes, now that brings us to the reason I am here, We believe that Voldemort has found a way to get past the magic that Dumbledore has used to protect you while you are here."  
"How? Voldemort himself said that he couldn't touch me while I am here."  
"We have been researching the magic that was invoked, when he took your blood" Harry grabbed his arm compulsively, "he gave himself the ability to enter this household and attack you. We are not sure yet if he knows this but Arabella and I felt it was safer if we were around to watch over you."  
Harry and Sirius looked outside and saw about five brooms flying over the roofs of Privet drive. They landed in Mrs. Figg's front yard and walked inside.  
"I'm sorry Harry but I have to go now." Sirius looked in to his eyes "If you need anything you know where to find us, but don't come over unless you are in real trouble. Just try and keep out of trouble while you are here."  
"Goodbye Sirius" Harry said as Sirius Black, a wanted murderer and his godfather flew out of his window leaving Harry feeling more worried than before.  
Harry didn't know how he made it to his birthday when he expected to see Voldemort show up and attack him, or look across the street and see the bodies of Mrs. Figg, Sirius, and Remus Lupin, all that would remain in the event of an attack by Voldemort. Harry spent each night doing his homework by flashlight, acutely aware of somebody watching him, whenever he tried to identify the spy he couldn't find them. When his birthday finally came around he received owls from Hermione, Ron, Hogwarts and Hagrid. Harry opened the letter from Hermione first. It said:  
Dear Harry,  
Happy Birthday, I wasn't sure what to get you until I saw an ad in the Daily Prophet that looked perfect for you. I am spending the summer in Egypt with Bill Weasley and I am learning a lot. I was so excited because I just got my letter from Hogwarts and guess what?! I was made a prefect. My parents were so pleased when I wrote and told them that they went to Diagon Alley and bought me an owl. It is a snowy owl just like Hedwig so I hope they get along. Enjoy the present.  
Hermione  
P.S. Bill says hi and enclosed is his gift  
Harry opened Bill's gift first and found a necklace with a fang on it, attached was a note.  
Harry-  
I found this in one of the pyramids, it is supposed to bring good luck but the wizard who we found it on had run in to one of the booby traps of the pyramids and grown an extra head so I don't know.   
Harry then opened Hermione's gift and was amazed at the gift that fell on to the floor. It was a clock much like the Weasleys had in their house, it had no numbers around the edge but instead places like work, home, jail and traveling or even one under the listing of mortal peril. The Weasley's had names of each of their family members on it but Harry's read something different. Harry read each of the names, they were Sirius, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Hagrid, Dumbledore, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Lupin and a blank one, which Harry filled in with Arbella Figg. As he hung it up the hands started to turn. Hermione's, Ron's, Fred's, George's, Ginny's and Mrs. Figg's went towards home. Lupin's, Hagrid's, Dumbledore's and Sirius's turned to traveling. Harry's was the last to stop as went around to the 12 o'clock position and stopped at mortal peril.   
Harry looked at the clock in growing terror; he was about to send Hedwig over to Sirius when he heard a noise that made his heart stop. He heard a creak as if someone was coming up the stairs. It must have woken the Dursleys up too because he heard a snort and the snores from Dudley's room stop and the door to Uncle Vernon's room squeak open. Harry ran to his trunk pulled out a slip of paper and wrote as fast as he could.   
-Voldemort is here  
Harry gave the letter to Hedwig and told her to take it to Sirius quickly. As Hedwig flew towards the open window Harry groped in his trunk for his wand. He heard a high voice outside whisper a spell  
"Avada Kervada"  
Harry heard a noise that sounded like a bag of potatoes dropping to the floor, it sounded as if Uncle Dursley had walked upon Lord Voldemort. Harry heard his Aunt's and Uncle's door open again, he heard a loud piercing scream and then,  
"Avada Kervada"  
A smaller noise that Harry imagined to be Aunt Petunia falling to the ground. Harry heard the door next to his open and another spell being spoken,  
"Avada Kervada"  
Dudley's fall caused the entire house to shake, and caused many of Dudley's old toys to fall on the floor of the room. Harry had locked his door but he knew it wouldn't stop Voldemort. He was still trying to decide which spell he would use when two things happened simultaneously.   
At the door Harry heard Voldemort whisper   
"Alohorma" The door flew open and Harry saw the face that had haunted his dreams for the last four years.   
At the window harry heard the same spell being used and the window shot open and in flew Remus Lupin, Sirius Black and Arabella Figg all with their wands raised.   
The standoff ensued and what an odd standoff it was, at the door stood Lord Voldemort, the greatest dark lord of a millennium. In the middle of the room stood Harry Potter, the boy who defeated Lord Voldemort four times at different points during his lifetime, and at the window stood Harry's Godmother, Godfather and ex-teacher who was also a werewolf.   
Voldemort decided to attack first, he shot the cruciatus curse at Harry and hit him right in the chest, Harry's screams filled the air as he fell to the ground. Harry felt like he was going to die but he heard three different curses spoken all at the same time. The effect on Voldemort was not pretty, but before Harry could see what had happened he heard a shout from outside the house.  
"Reducto" The entire side of the house crumpled and dropped to the ground in pieces and outside stood at least a dozen Death Eaters, all wearing their robes and masks, all their wands pointed directly at HarrHhh Harry's bedroom where Sirius, Harry, Lupin, and Mrs. Figg were.  
Harry dove behind the bed as about a dozen unforgivable curses shot his way, everyone in the room was safe for the moment, but it wouldn't last for long, Harry heard an incantation from one of the Death Eaters outside,  
"Accio Voldemort"  
Voldemort's limp body flew up and slowly floated outside to the waiting Death Eaters, Harry stood up and saw the Death Eaters revive their leader. With Voldemort recovered Harry knew it would only be a matter of time until Harry along with everyone else in the room would either be killed or captured unless he did something.   
Harry saw something that gave him a good idea, he pulled everyone in the room close together and told him his plan.  
"I saw Hedwig fly off to Dumbledore earlier so all we have to do is hold out until he gets here."  
"That's your plan Harry?" Lupin asked, "How are we supposed to hold out for any amount of time? The Death Eaters have this house surrounded, we need to find a way to escape."  
"That's not the plan, this is." Harry said still trying to see what was going on outside. "I saw some people come out of Mrs. Figg's house, I believe them to be your friends, am I right?"  
"Sirius he's right, I completely forgot about them. They might be able to make the distraction we need to escape." Mrs. Figg said.  
"That's close to my plan but instead of them being the distraction we are, on the count of three we shoot as many curses down on the Death Eaters as we can. Try and either stun or injure them." Harry looked around at the disbelieving faces around him. "While the Death Eaters are distracted your friends will attack, either capturing them or forcing them to disapparate."  
"Harry are you sure, if they don't attack we're going to be captured or killed." Lupin said seriously.   
"That will happen anyway if we don't attack" Harry said, "I don't see another way to hold out until Dumbledore comes.   
  



	2. Dangerous Escape

  
  
Harry Potter and the Dark Lord's Castle  
Dangerous Escape  
  
"That will happen anyway if we don't attack" Harry said, "I don't see another way to hold out until Dumbledore comes."  
"Remus, he's right, this is our only chance." Sirius said after a moment.  
"I know...I know. I just wish there was another way." Looking at Harry, "Count off to the attack."  
"O.K., 3...2...1...Go!"  
All four of them jumped to their feet; they started cursing the Death Eaters with every imaginable curse. The Death Eaters were so surprised that it took them a while to fire back, they didn't even notice when the rest of Sirius's group showed up behind them and started attacking them. Four Death Eaters were down when Voldemort ordered them all to retreat, the last thing Voldemort said was to Harry.  
"Feel safe now because I have chosen you to be the first prisoner of my new castle" Voldemort Disapperated with a loud 'pop', the sound of his laughing still ringing in Harry's ears.  
Harry surveyed the situation and was amazed at what he saw. On the ground were four Death Eaters that Voldemort abandoned. As Harry watched Sirius and Lupin starting wrapping chords around them tightly, and taking their wands.   
"It's time to find out who these are." Sirius said calmly but his face looked quite excited.   
Sirius removed the first mask and saw the face of Lucius Malfoy, the father of Harry's nemesis at Hogwarts Draco Malfoy.   
"Lucius!" Sirius exclaimed venomously "I knew he would return to the dark side the second they were in power."  
"Take off the next mask Sirius." Lupin said calmly  
Sirius removed the next mask and saw the face of...Crabbe. The next Death Eater was Goyle; these two were also fathers of Slytherin students at Hogwarts.   
Sirius removed the last mask and the face he saw made Harry's heart leap with joy. It was the face of Peter Pettigrew, also known as Wormtail. The capture of Wormtail meant that Sirius would be cleared of murder and Harry would be able to live with him.   
"Remus, do you know what this means? What the capture of Wormtail will do for me?" Sirius asked, the excitement in his face growing.  
"Yes Sirius, I understand." Lupin said wearily.  
They continued their conversation until Harry heard a couple of 'pop's behind him and a moment later Professors Dumbledore, McGonnagall, and to Harry's intense displeasure Snape.  
"What has happened here Sirius?" Dumbledore asked sharply  
"Isn't it obvious?" Sirius answered sardonically, "Voldemort found a way to get past your ancient magic. He attacked and almost killed all of us."  
"But that's not possible, the ancient magic is only one of many protectors that Harry has while he is in his relation's care." Snape said suspiciously  
"What are you saying then, Professor Snape?" Sirius replied with contempt  
"Sirius! Severus! I insist that you stop this bickering at once, Harry has been attacked and it looks as though he was saved by Sirius, Remus, and Arabella."  
"It does look that way sir but appearances can be deceiving." Shooting a look at Black, "Aren't I correct Sirius."  
"Of course you are, but look at the bodies we captured and see if one of them might be able to change your opinion of me."  
Sirius examined the bodies and when he came to Wormtail's he stopped dead in his tracks.  
"Great Merlin's ghost it can't be, you killed him fourteen years ago." He said eyeing Black  
"Severus it is time you learned the truth," Dumbledore said coming up behind him. "Black is or was not a murderer, he was set up by Pettigrew who had been working for Voldemort for some time. Pettigrew was also the Potter's secret keeper; he didn't corner Black in the street it was the other way around. Pettigrew blasted the street apart and because he is an animagi he transformed himself in to a rat."   
While Dumbledore was explaining this, several witches and wizards were disapperating around him. When Dumbledore was done they same out of the shadows. The wizards present were Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic. Bode and Croker, two members of the department of mystery that Harry recognized from the Quidditch World Cup. Behind them were Percy Weasley, Ron's older brother and the new head of the department of International Cooperation and last was a man that he didn't recognize.   
"What is it Albus? Let me warn you if this is another story by your staff and Harry Potter about Voldemort coming ba..." He stopped suddenly when he noticed the damage to the Dursley's house and the four Death Eater's on the ground.  
Fudge examined the bodies and was muttering to himself the whole time. "Lucius...Malfoy...generous donations...good...imperious...controlled...you-know-who...Crabe...friend of Malfoy...renounced...dark arts...Goyle...controlled by...you-know-who...Pettigrew...impossible...killed by Black...14 years ago...single curse...not possible...Black innocent?"  
Dumbledore who had been listening in to Fudge's whisperings cut in, "it's true Fudge, Voldemort is back and Sirius Black is innocent."   
Fudge looked at him as if he was crazy but with the proof in front of him he could hardly argue. Black came out from the shadows of the house and started speaking  
"It's true Minister, I was framed and now there is proof that I am innocent, will you renounce the charges and declare me a free man."  
Fudge looked outraged at the very idea but at that moment a Daily Prophet reporter disapperated in to view. Took one look at the fallen Death Eaters, Peter Pettigrew's still alive body and Sirius Black and took out her magic quill and said  
"Is Sirius Black a free man now, Minister?"  
Harry grinned at the irony that the Daily Prophet, who had made a mockery of his life, would now the one to force Fudge to let Sirius go.   
Twenty minutes later, having all of his possessions packed he said a final farewell to Number 4 Privet Drive and used floo powder to transport to Hogwarts with his free godfather Sirius Black .  
  
  
  



	3. Gifts and Kidnaps

Harry Potter and the Dark Lord's Castle  
Gifts and Kidnaps   
  
Once Harry got to Hogwarts he had a meeting with Professor Dumbledore and it was decided that Harry would stay there for the rest of the summer to ensure his protection. It was also decided that Sirius being that he had no home and he didn't want to leave Harry would also stay at Hogwarts for the remainder of summer. Harry couldn't help feeling better no that he was at Hogwarts, he was unpacking his things in the fifth year Gryffindor boy's dormitory when the door opened and in came Sirius.   
"Dumbledore said that I should stay in here with you until the rest of the school arrives." Sirius said looking around the room and picking the bed in the opposite corner from Harry.   
Being as Sirius didn't have any possessions to unpack, he helped Harry unpack his things from his trunk. Harry was putting up his clock from Hermione when he remembered that he never opened the rest of his presents. He chose the one that looked as though it was from Ron. Harry opened the card and it said  
Dear Harry  
Happy Birthday, did you hear the bad news, Hermione was made a prefect! Looks as though hear years of making trouble with us has finally come to an end, it was too bad though because I thought that she was just starting to loosen up. Fred and George send their greeting and thanks, although they wouldn't tell me what for. Also did you hear, they got loads of money from somewhere but they wouldn't tell me where from, sounds a bit fishy to me but they bought me some new dress robes so I'm not complaining. Well hope you like my gift; I got it from Fred and George. I'll see you at Diagon Alley or Kings Cross.  
-Ron  
Harry opened the gift and was looking at a huge box that said across the top Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He took off the top of the box and saw stacks upon stacks of all types of wizarding tricks. On top was a note, which Harry read  
Dear Harry  
This box contains all the inventions, tricks and toys that are now a part of our new joke shop Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. As our investor we are giving you a complete set of inventory before we begin to sell anything. Thanks again for the start up money.  
-Fred and George  
Harry smiled as he looked through stacks of canary cream, ton-tongue toffee, and other inventions that Harry didn't recognize.   
Harry then reached for his next present, from the un-tidy scrawl on note it looked as though it was from Hagrid,  
Dear Harry,  
Happy Birthday, I can't tell you where I am of course but Madam Maxime and I are really making some progress. I wish I could tell you more but I can't, have a ruddy brilliant Birthday. Hope you enjoy my gift, I made it myself, but had professor Flitwick do some intricate charms.  
-Hagrid  
P.S I hope the muggles are treating you well  
Harry opened Hagrid's gift and saw that it was a quidditch field that was carved out of wood. On the field though were seven people that were flying and scoring goals with the quaffle and hitting bludgers around. As Harry looked closer he began to recognize some of the players, one of the teams was the Gryffindor house team from two years ago. Harry recognized himself as he dove sharply to race after the golden snitch, which was almost invisible at this scale. The team that Gryffindor was playing against seemed to be the Hufflepuff house team. Harry's heart ached as he saw Cedric Diggory dive after Harry for the Snitch, the memory of Cedric's death was still fresh in his mind. He forced his eyes to turn away to open his last two presents. It was from Mrs. Figg  
Harry grabbed the closer one and took off the card and started reading.   
Dear Harry,  
Happy Birthday, as I haven't had much time to explain who I am I felt that a letter would best explain it. I am a witch, as you probably have guessed by now, I was a friend of your mums and was named your godmother. When your parents were killed and you were sent to live with the Dursleys I volunteered to live by you and protect you. I am sorry that I could never tell you who I was but I couldn't have you telling the Dursleys who I really was. I also apologize for making you suffer through your poor experiences at my house. I would also like to say that my image doesn't reflect my age, when I volunteered to protect you I began drinking an aging potion so that no one would recognize me, I am really the same age as your parents. When your parents left me with these I knew that they would want you to have them.   
-Arabella Figg  
Harry opened the gift and was left speechless at the two gifts that rolled out on to his bed. On the bed were two wands, his parent's wands. They looked badly burnt and scorched but he knew he would treasure them always.   
The last gift was from Sirius who had left the room when he saw that Harry was about to open his present.  
Dear Harry,  
Happy Birthday, I hope that you are doing well, if not remember I am staying at Arabella's for the summer. I hope you like that gift, it was originally meant to be for James but I know that it will be useful in the dark times ahead for you.   
-Sirius  
Harry opened the present and what fell on to his bed he recognized immediately. It was a foe glass. Harry recognized it because Mad-eye Moody had one last year, it was smaller than Moody's, but maybe that was because he didn't have as many enemies as Moody. When Harry hung it up though, a large group of shadowy figures came in to being.   
Harry threw the wrapping paper away and started putting the rest of his things away. He decided to go and look for Sirius to thank him for his gift, he put the gifts on his bed and walked outside the room. If he had looked behind him he would have seen a pair of shadowy figures getting more in focus.   
Harry couldn't find Sirius in the building so he went out on to the Hogwarts grounds. He was about to go back to the room when he heard a voice behind him that made him stop. He turned around and called out Sirius' name; he was about to call again when he saw two shadowy figures emerge from the forbidden forest. He pulled out his wand but before he could say a word the Death Eaters muttered a curse  
"Stupefy" Harry saw the curse coming towards him, and then everything blacked out.  
  
  
  
  



	4. Seers and Attacks

Harry Potter and the Dark Lord's Castle  
Seers and Attacks  
  
Harry awoke in a dim lit room with his scar burning and a sharp pain in his chest where the curse hit him. Harry tried to look around the room but as he sat up the scar on his forehead started to burn worse than ever, he laid back down but it didn't help, he was about to scream in pain when the door opened and in walked...Voldemort. Voldemort had captured him, Harry couldn't remember how he had gotten captured though, he remembered walking down to the lake to find Sirius, and he was about to go back to the castle and... he couldn't remember anything after that.  
"Hello Harry Potter." Voldemort said with a sneer, "we meet again I see, this time however I have taken precautions that will ensure that you join the dark order or die."  
Harry didn't know how to answer this, but decided to keep quiet, he was hoping Voldemort might become over-confident and slip some important information to Harry.   
"I imagine you have some questions don't you, Harry?" Voldemort said as an evil grin flashed across his face. "I will answer what I wish, and you will be happy that I have been that generous won't you." Silence,  
"Crucio" Pain shot through Harry's entire body as the torture continued.  
"Now," Voldemort said "you will be gracious after I have answered your questions won't you"  
Harry wanted Voldemort to answer his questions so this time he answered. "Yes"  
"Now there's a good boy" Voldemort said with mock kindness  
Harry decided to ask his first question, "Where am I?"  
"In my castle of course, it was a prison until I took over, the prison guards invited me and gave me all the prisoners, some I killed, and some rejoined me as my most loyal supporter, do you know what prison I broke open?" Voldemort asked, Harry dreaded the answer. "It was Azkaban of course, with my most loyal supporters at my back not even that muggle loving fool Dumbledore can stop me now."   
Harry didn't know what to say to that so he decided to ask another question. "In my second year, your 16 year-old memory said that you only killed my mother to kill me, why did you want to kill me."  
Voldemort let out his eerie laugh, "You mean that fool Dumbledore hasn't told you yet, let me inform you then. Do you know the ancestry on your father's side?" Harry shook his head no. "Just as I am a descendent of one of the creators of Hogwarts, you are as well. Another muggle-lover, Godric Gryffindor."  
"That still doesn't explain why you would want to kill me." Harry asked, hoping he wouldn't say anything that would make the Dark Lord torture him.  
"Not a very bright boy are you?" Voldemort said with a sneer "An oracle of Gryffindor and Slytherin's day made a prediction, would you like to hear that prediction?" Harry nodded deafly  
"Two heirs of the founders will fight in the wars,  
the birth of the good will mark the death of the bad  
their first battle will end the dark days  
their second shall restart them  
good will reign unless the heir shall die  
evil shall lose unless the killing blow is made"  
Harry tried to absorb this but was interrupted by Voldemort,   
"Now you know why I wanted to kill you then, and now you know why I have to kill you now."  
Voldemort reached in his robes for his wand and pulled it out, Harry had no wand to defend himself with, he dove behind his bed just in time as the infamous curse Avada Kevarda hit the wall behind him just over his head.  
Harry knew that he had very little chance to get out of this alive without a wand or a mother there to die for him. He also knew that no one could get to him in Azkaban to rescue him. He looked around the room looking for some way to escape. Looking behind him he saw the escape he had been looking for.  
Voldemort's curse had broken the wall behind Harry, the wall opened up to the outside where there was an empty stretch of ground and then a pier with one rickety boat in it, Harry ran away while he heard Voldemort behind him  
"The boy escaped, get him! Get Harry Potter!"  
Harry could hear Death Eaters and Dementors chasing after Harry, Harry ran as fast as he could but he felt the Dementors affecting him  
"No..Not Harry...Take me...but let Harry go"  
Flash of Green and a High Pitched laugh  
Harry fell to the ground, his scar was burning and he could barely see. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was about a dozen Dementors and a few Death Eaters surrounding him  
  



	5. Orders of the Good

Harry Potter and the Dark Lord's Castle   
Orders of the Good  
  
Meanwhile back at Hogwarts...  
"I knew I should have never left him alone!" Sirius ranted, he had been talking like this for the last hour, ever since they realized that Harry was missing. "I was with him and I should never have left! I should have realized that the Death Eaters would want revenge and that they would extract it out on Harry!"  
"Sirius, calm down, it is not your fault, it is mine. I should have posted more security around the castle, I should have asked one of the professors to follow Harry and make sure that he was safe." Dumbledore said  
They both knew that their arguing about whose fault it was wasn't helping the situation but neither of them wanted to accept the fact that Harry was in the hands of Lord Voldemort, and their arguing was giving them time before the truth set in.  
"Dumbledore! Sirius! What has happened?" Professor McGonagall burst in to Dumbledore's office. "Is it true? Severus told me that Harry..." Her voice cracked and she couldn't go on.  
Dumbledore nodded, "It is true Minerva, the Death Eaters were here, they came out of the Forbidden Forest and attacked Harry. They stunned him and took him prisoner." Dumbledore looked old and downcast as he said these words.  
"Albus, how will we rescue him, what can we do?" Professor McGonagall looked frightened of the possible answer.  
"Unfortunately there is very little that we can do Minerva." Dumbledore looked very tired, his face was very pale and he looked sick. "If we attack, Harry will be dead before we can get by the first guard. We can only hope that Voldemort has some reason to keep Harry alive. If he doesn't, than Harry might already be dead, we need to find a way to lure Voldemort and his guards away from his prison so we can attack and rescue Harry."  
"How can we do that? What should we do now?" Minerva asked impatiently   
Some of the fire came back in to Dumbledore's eyes as he sat up and answered her question. "First things first, we need to be sure of any allies we have or can get. Minerva I need you to contact Hagrid, ask him if he has had success on his mission and if we can count on support from the giants. Then I need you to talk to Arthur Weasley of the Ministry of Magic, ask him if we have support in the Ministry and who we can count on." Minerva was expecting this so as soon as Dumbledore finished his instructions she stood up and left the office.   
"What should I do professor?" Sirius asked, looking after McGonagall  
"Sirius, I need you to do a mission that I know will be very hard on you, but you must do it."  
"What mission? I'll do anything for Harry." Sirius said anxiously.  
"You don't understand Sirius, I need you to nothing, I can't have you trying to rescue Harry, most likely you'll die in the attempt and will be condemning Harry to death. Sirius, I am asking you to wait.   
  
  
  
  



	6. Traitors of the Dark

Harry Potter and the Dark Lord's Castle  
Traitors of the Dark  
  
Back in Azkaban...  
Harry woke up feeling pain on every inch of his body, the pain was so terrible he could barely think, let alone escape again. He knew he had been lucky to almost escape the first time, Voldemort made a mistake and Harry knew that he wouldn't make another one. Harry knew that if he didn't escape he would die, in fact he remembered that Voldemort was tried to kill him and wondered why he hadn't killed him in his sleep. Unfortunately Harry couldn't think much more than that because he could feel Dementors around, without his wand Harry would have to endure the torture of hearing his parents last moments.  
  
Lily! It's him, take Harry and run.  
  
A flash of green light and his father was dead  
  
No! Not Harry!  
  
Flash! Another curse and his mother was dead  
  
The torture didn't end there though; more horrible images from Harry's past floated in to his mind.  
  
Kill the spare.  
  
Flash!  
  
Cedric's body lying dead on the ground beside him  
  
Other images from that night also floated through his mind.  
  
The skeleton-like body rose from the cauldron,  
  
Lord Voldemort had risen again.  
  
Harry wanted to faint, wanted the images to stop, but they didn't. All through the night Harry heard/watched the worst moments of his life, he screamed, he cried, but the torture continued. He finally fell in to a restful state, though his mind was far from asleep. His thoughts were plagued with the actions of Lord Voldemort and the fear of what he would do to him.  
Harry jumped with a start as he heard a squeaking noise coming from the door of his cell, for a moment he thought someone was opening the door so he stood up and prepared to fight for his life. It turned out he was wrong, a little flap that Harry hadn't noticed opened and a tray fell through. On the tray was an unappetizing gray paste, Harry wasn't sure if he should eat it, but then decided that they would poison him because they could kill him anytime they wanted.   
He ate until all of the paste was gone, he looked at the rest of the tray to see if there were any tools that he could use to aid in his escape. He couldn't see anything, but he looked at everything on the tray. The tray contained, a plate, now empty, a plastic spoon and a napkin; Harry was surprised that there was a napkin because most of the prisoners of Azkaban were crazy. Harry picked up the napkin and his eyes widened in surprise, there was a message written on the back, he didn't recognize the handwriting but it made his heart leap. Maybe he had an ally in Azkaban that could help him get his wand and escape. He read the note.   
Potter,  
I won't sign this note in case it is intercepted, it is risky to send this note but I decided I must so you wont lose your spirit. I will try and help you escape; but not yet, Dumbledore has plans in motion that can greatly increase our chances of a successful completion of this mission. Keep your spirits high for you have a friend in this place. Do not try and contact me, it is too risky, when the plan is ready I will send you another note.   
Harry didn't know what some of the note meant, but the general idea made is spirits rise. He committed the note to memory and then destroyed it. He would figure it out later, right then he had to rest, the Dementors were affecting him again, the last thought he had before he fell to the ground was of Wormtail writhing on the ground in pain.   
Back at Hogwarts...  
"These are your demands then?" Dumbledore's eyes shot a sharp glance at the man in the chair before him. "If we comply with them, you will turn away from your dark lord and become a spy for me."  
"Yessss," the figure said, glancing around the room as if afraid someone might be listening. "You know Dumbledore, that what I am doing involves a very high risk for me."  
"I know that Lucius, and no one appreciates it more than me, I will ensure That no harm shall come to your son while he is in my care. I suggest that you keep a low profile, inform me of Voldemort's actions by owl, I suggest that you don't come back here except in extreme circumstances. I'd like you to know that I think what you are doing is the right thing to do."   
Lucius Malfoy looked at him suspiciously, "I'm not doing this for you, or any of your friends, the dark lord has gone mad with power, the only way I or my family can live freely again is if the dark lord falls."   
With that Lucius Malfoy put on his hood and walked silently out of the room without a glance to the right or left.   
"Do you think he was serious, or is he trying to play me for a fool." The room seemed to be empty, but when he said those words a cat bounded in to view from behind Dumbledore's desk the cat turned in to an old lady in front of Dumbledore's eyes.  
Minerva McGonagall looked at him and shook her head, "I don't know Albus, I just don't know."   
  
  
  



	7. Godric's Diary

Harry Potter and the Dark Lord's Castle  
Godric's Diary   
  
Harry was losing control of his mind in Voldemort's prison. For Harry, each hour was like the one before it, each day was the same as yesterday, there was no end to his madness. The images in his mind were also changing, the worst moments of his life were replayed, but some of them now had different endings, his worst nightmares were coming true. The images in his mind showed Ron and Hermione dying trying to get the Sorcerers stone, Ginny dying in the chamber of secrets, Sirius getting the Dementors kiss, and finally Himself dying at Voldemort's hand. Harry supposed that this was how the Dementors made you go insane, this information didn't help him any though. Harry's one thought that wasn't adulterated was the thought that there was someone in Azkaban who was going to try and rescue him.   
Harry spent his days cowering in the corner of his cell, trying to get out of range of the Dementors. He barely slept and had gotten even skinnier than he had been because he was only eating enough to survive. He had been keeping tally of how many days he had been in there; the tally now showed twenty-two marks. It had been twenty-two days since he had seen the sun, or talked to a living soul. Harry laid down of the floor and wondered why there had been no attempted rescue, didn't anyone care if he was a prisoner. That was his last thought as he drifted off in to a nightmare filled sleep.  
  
Back at Hogwarts...  
  
"The time for our attack has come," Dumbledore was saying as the door to his office opened and two men walked through the door. Dumbledore looked at them, but continued with his speech. "Harry has been at the mercy of Voldemort for more than three weeks, Fudge refuses to believe he has been kidnapped and will do nothing to help us. We know that Voldemort is holding him prisoner at Azkaban, we have two spies that are here to ensure that we can rescue Harry. The two spies have just walked in, many of you know them and I hope you will be open minded to both of them. They have both told me, under the power of Veritaserum that they have left Voldemort. Please welcome in to our circle, Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape. Severus has been working for our side for many years while Lucius has recently joined our side; we are here today to induct them in this ancient order. I call to order this meeting of the Order of Phoenix."  
Dumbledore looked around the room at the members of the order, many he had not seen since the order had been disbanded, two weeks after Voldemort disappeared. Looking around the room he saw, professors' McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, and Sprout. He also saw Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Arthur Weasley, Arabella Figg, and others. The order quieted down and Dumbledore, as the head of the organization stood up.  
"We need to combine our strengths and work together if we are going to defeat Voldemort and rescue Harry. As you may know, there is only one person alive with the powers to match Voldemort. For those of you who don't know his potential, the answer is Harry Potter."  
At these words the people seated around Dumbledore broke in to whispers, they had heard rumors of the power if the Potter boy, but they had no idea he was powerful enough to not only survive against Voldemort but to defeat him. Arthur Weasley stood up to ask a question.  
"What about you, Albus, many say that your powers rivaled those of Voldemort at his height of power. He is no longer at his height of power, can you not defeat him?"  
Dumbledore's face looked much older than usual as he answered the question,   
"Arthur, look at me, I'm old, I'm in no position to fight Voldemort alone, there are only one person who can defeat him now. If we lose Harry Potter I'm sorry to say that we have probably lost the war."   
The entire order looked depressed at these words but none more than Snape and Malfoy, they knew that they would be the heart of the plan to rescue Harry. Both of them had been at odds with Harry since his return to the wizarding world and neither of them were particularly happy about risking their lives to protect him. Snape had already written him a letter to let him know that help was out there, that note was about as sentimental as Snape had ever gotten.   
The meeting continued for some time, each of the members volunteering names of people that they thought would be loyal members for the order. The meeting ended at around midnight, Dumbledore went to his office and sat at his desk. He began writing letters to his spies and allies, to gather information and support, he wrote to people in the ministry, representatives of all sorts of magical creatures, for werewolves, to centaurs, to mermaid, he also sent letters to the giants asking for support. Dumbledore knew better than anyone did how much support they needed if they were going to rescue Harry, the boy who was the only hope of the world.  
Once Dumbledore finished this task he decided that he should gather more information on the subject at hand and the prophecies surrounding the defeat of Voldemort. He found the diary of Godric Gryffindor in his desk and began reading. The diary had been passed down through the Gryffindor Family, James Potter, as the last remaining heir of Gryffindor had left it in his possession before he had died. It was of course written in Middle English but Dumbledore could read it.   
The diary told of how Gryffindor had met the other founders, how they had worked together to build Hogwarts and how they had started teaching young wizards. Dumbledore skipped past most of that and stopped on the first day of Hogwarts. At the sorting ceremony Helga Hufflepuff, the seer of the group had had a prediction. It told of how a boy, who Dumbledore believed to be Harry, would defeat a dark lord, who Dumbledore believed to be Voldemort, and would unite the world. Dumbledore had not shared this prediction with many people because he was afraid that it would make them overconfident. Dumbledore knew that the future was always changing and the prediction might be false, he also knew that if Voldemort killed Harry the prediction would also be untrue. As most wizards knew divination was a very imprecise branch of magic and although Hufflepuff was a true seer that did not make the prediction full proof. Dumbledore sat at his desk for hours absorbed in the life of Godric Gryffindor; the diary was very long, as Godric Gryffindor lived to be very old. Dumbledore read over the argument Gryffindor had with Slytherin, Dumbledore knew that this argument had started the rip that threatened to tear the wizarding world apart. After the argument between the two founders each started their own secret orders. Gryffindor started the Order of Phoenix to protect the world from the dark arts, and Slytherin started the dark order, whose goal was to make the dark arts rule the wizarding rule.   
Dumbledore went to sleep knowing that the fight that started more than a thousand years ago was going to soon come to an end. If Harry won, the world would once again be united and wizards and muggles would be safe from the dark arts, but if Voldemort won the world would be ripped apart in war. That was why they must sacrifice everything to save Harry Potter. That was why they must attack Azkaban soon.   
  
  
  
  



	8. Dumbledore's Rescue

Harry Potter and the Dark Lord's Castle  
Dumbledore's Rescue   
  
Harry awoke to the sound of his meal entering the room, as usual he ate very little and then put it on the floor, and then he checked his napkin for a message of some sort. He had lost count of how many days he had been in Azkaban, but he thought it was around a month. He looked on the napkin and saw a message. It was written in the same handwriting, it said.  
Potter-  
The rescue is set for tonight, an ally will come by your cell tonight; he will open the cell and get you your wand. Once he does this he is going to leave you and you will have to get out yourself. Dumbledore is going to lead an attack on Azkaban, so it is going to be very confusing around here. Get out, and go to the docks, there will be a boat out there. Once you get on the boat it will magically speed you to a safe place. STAY THERE until someone comes and gets you; follow these instructions to the letter. DO NOT stay and help, DO NOT leave the safe place.   
Harry was happy for the first time in a month, he was feeling very happy indeed, when a Dementor walked by, he could feel the happiness being sucked out of him and he was left with a feeling of dread. People might die trying to rescue him, how could he have that on his conscience. For the rest of the day Harry worried about the fate of his rescuers and if they would be successful.   
That night, Harry heard the sound he had been waiting for, outside his cell he heard an incantation.  
"Expecto Patronum" He could see a silver reflection through the edges of his cell door. He heard the sounds of feet running away and it sounded as if the Dementors were running away. As soon as they got out of range the happiness that he might escape overpowered his emotions again. He heard another spell, this one unlocked the door, the door flew open and Harry stood speechless at rescuer, it was none other than Lucius Malfoy.   
"Malfoy?!" Harry exclaimed, letting anger flow with his words, "What? Have you come to torture me some more."   
"I'm here to rescue you, you stupid boy." He drawled, Malfoy handed Harry his wand and was off without another word leaving Harry to ponder the mystery of why Lucius Malfoy appeared to be on their side.   
Harry could hear voices and bangs coming from the north side of the prison, he assumed this must be where Dumbledore was concentrating his efforts. Harry remembered where the docks were and it was on the opposite side of the prison as Dumbledore. Harry ran down the hall and caught sight of a lone Death Eater who was running towards the battle. The person who wrote the notes never said he couldn't help out as long as he was going towards the boats, he jumped out from behind the wall he was behind and shouted,  
"Expelliarmis!" The Death Eater's Wand flew out of his grip and on the ground in front of Harry. Harry didn't believe it would be that easy to disarm him, so he didn't really know what to do. He shouted the first spell that came to mind.   
"Reducto!" Harry shouted as he swung his wand to point at the Death Eater, the spell hit the Death Eater and with power that surprised even Harry he flew down the hall at least twenty feet and fell to the ground with a sickening crunch. Harry approached the fallen Death Eater with caution, knowing he could be trying to fool him. Harry didn't think that he was in good enough condition to attack him but just to make sure he used another spell to contain him,  
"Stupefy!" Harry said his wand pointed directly at the Death Eater's head, the spell hit him and he stayed motionless on the ground. Harry was interested to know which Death Eater he took down so he unmasked him, and was staring in to the face of Igor Karkaroff, the former Headmaster of Durmstrang, another Wizarding School. Harry was interested to note that Karkaroff had rejoined Voldemort, Harry would have liked to know why he had done it, but knew better than to wake him. He ran the rest of the way to the boat and climbed aboard, as soon as he got aboard the boat zoomed away from the island. Harry looked behind him on the island and was amazed at the sight that he saw. He saw at least a half-dozen giants, each of them at least 25 feet tall, they were crushing parts of Azkaban and the Death Eater's spells bounced off of their skin harmlessly. He also saw a small army of centaurs wielding cross bows charging down the beach after two Death Eaters. He also saw small groups of different types of creatures, he saw a group of Banshees, who had cornered some Death Eaters against a wall. He also saw merpeople in the water surrounding Azkaban, Harry was amazed at the number of resources Dumbledore was using just to rescue him. The last part of the battle was truly amazing, more than a hundred wizards were standing at the gates of Azkaban, and surrounding them were the same amount of Patronus', there was almost every shape imaginable. The wizards were also fighting the remainder of the Death Eaters. All across the island battle raged.   
"Why am I so bloody important?" Harry asked himself, "why are all of these people fighting for my freedom."  
"He looked at the water around his speeding boat and was amazed to see a guard of Merpeople was surrounding the boat. The boat sped on until Harry could only see the outline of Azkaban and the giants that were attacking it. The boat went on for so long that Harry finally fell asleep.   
"Master, they are here! Dumbledore is leading the attack, he has gotten an army that is bigger than ours here. We must retreat or be destroyed."   
"Nott," the other voice said calmly, "hold out your arm."   
The man called Nott did so, on his arm was the dark mark. When Voldemort touched it, it turned black, the Death Eaters apperated to his side.   
'That muggle lover Albus Dumbledore has attacked, we will meet this attack. Now go and stop him before he destroys my castle. If he gets through you, my loyal army, you had better hope that he kills you, because if you fail me your fate will be worse than death. Now go!"  
The army disapperated, and Voldemort was left alone wondering where his most faithful servant Lucius Malfoy was, he also wondered where Karkaroff was. He voiced these concerns to the empty room and then apperated to the Riddle House at Little Hangleton to let his Death Eaters fight the battle. He was still not up to full strength and needed his potion from Nagini.   
Harry woke up in a small room, he assumed this was the safe room that the letter had talked about, there was very little in the room. It was sparsely furnished with just a bed in the corner and a small table in the center.  
The door opened and Rubeus Hagrid staggered in, bleeding profusely from a wound on chest, he looked like he was trying to say something but he collapsed on the floor before he could say it and lay there unmoving.   
  
  
  



	9. Centaurs, Giants and Battles

Harry Potter and the Dark Lord's Castle  
Centaurs, Giants and Battles  
  
Harry rushed over to the floor where Hagrid was lying on the floor, to Harry it looked as though Hagrid was dead, though he hoped not. He kneeled down next to Hagrid but didn't know how to check to see if he was alive or not, he couldn't see his chest rising or falling and he didn't see the familiar friendly glint in his eye. A tear ran down Harry's face as he remembered the time he had spent with Hagrid, and how Hagrid had first told him he was a wizard. He wasn't giving up on Hagrid until a doctor could check on him, but he knew that the situation didn't look good. He wished he knew what to do, but his friend needed help so he decided what to do quickly. He made Hagrid comfortable using the pillow and blanket from the bed, and left the safe room determined to find help for his friend.  
  
Back on Azkaban...  
  
The situation didn't look good for Albus Dumbledore, the battle between good and evil continued, but the Death Eaters kept on getting reinforced and Dumbledore's army was not. Already the Banshees had been beaten and all but one of them was killed, the last one was beaten and thrown in one of the cells of Azkaban. The wizards were also in trouble, their patronus line was holding but if just a few more wizards were killed or taken out of the battle, the line would crumble and they would have to fight both the Dementors and the Death Eaters. Only two parts of the battle were actually in favor of Dumbledore, the first was that the giants seemed to be unstoppable in the eyes of the Death Eaters, nothing seemed to be able to slow them down, not even the killing curse. The second thing that was working in favor of Dumbledore was that Voldemort didn't seem to be fighting in this battle, this raised morale in Dumbledore's troops and left the Death Eaters without a strong command.   
As Dumbledore was thinking this, a couple of stunning curses got through the  
shield that the attackers had placed around themselves. The curses went straight and true  
and hit both the real Alastor Moody and Remus Lupin, when these two fell their entire  
left side was clear of any patronus' so the Dementors moved forward. Dumbledore could  
see his troops falling to the ground, but there was nothing he could do, the Dementors continued to advance until the wizards were saved again by the giants. The giants seemed to not be affected by the Dementors, one of the biggest giants saw the plight the wizards were in and jumped to cover their left side. He crushed dozens of Dementors because they had left the safety of the inside of the prison where they had been hiding. The Dementors retreated swiftly, leaving the wizards to recover and move forward on the attack. Dumbledore saw that they needed more troops to reinforce the Patronus line so he ordered professor sprout, who had a very weak patronus, to go and wake up the stunned troops. Dumbledore could hear him rushing around the fallen wizards and muttering the 'enervate' spell. Though the fallen soldiers looked very weak, they were powerful enough to create a string patronus line on the left side.   
Dumbledore knew that the mission had been successful because he had seen the boat taking Harry Potter to the safe room. Seeing this he had ordered Hagrid to lead the Centaurs to rescue him, Hagrid should have been there by now and would soon be taking Harry back to the protection of Hogwarts. The battle raged on all sides of him while Dumbledore shot spell after spell in to the ranks of the Death Eaters. He could see two Death Eaters who he believed to be Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape that were using the confusion of the battle to their advantage. They were putting themselves behind the line of Death Eaters and were firing many spells in to their backs, the rest of the line didn't seem to notice and probably assumed that they were getting hit in the crossfire. Dumbledore was outnumbered but thought that his troops were fighting very well, he saw that there were many fallen Death Eaters and Dementors around the battle field, he was also pleased to see that the Giants were suppressing their natural urges and were not killing people on his side. He had told them that they would be treated like equals with him and that he would help protect them. After this battle they might not be equals but will probably be hailed as heroes by the troops fighting because of how much they helped them. He also was pleased at the help the Centaurs had given, they must have seen something in the stars that had convinced them to help because they came in droves to join the fight that would save Harry Potter. All in all the battle was going fairly well, but Dumbledore also knew that he was losing some friends today because many of the Death Eaters were using the killing curse.   
Just when Dumbledore thought he would have to call the retreat one of the Death Eaters yelled out the retreat order and those that were able grabbed some port keys and. Dumbledore could see the Dementors using a port key to transport them away from the battle. Seconds later the battlefield was empty save for Dumbledore's army and the Death Eaters that had been injured or stunned in the battle and couldn't move. Dumbledore ordered that every Death Eater that was still around was to be unmasked and tied up, and that every cell was to be opened and the prisoners let out. Dumbledore knew that this was a battle that both light and dark would remember for a long time.  
  
Outside of the safe house...  
  
Once outside of the safe house, Harry was confused about where to go. He knew that he had never been around these parts before and he had no idea where he might be able to go to get help. He knew if he could find any wizard, they would be able to perform the basic healing techniques to save Hagrid's life. He didn't know what to do so he continued on, he got to a small clearing and saw a centaur ahead, he had met centaurs before and ran to ask for its help. When he got closer he could see it was the centaur Firenze and he felt very lucky, he had met Firenze before and he knew that Firenze would help him. He got closer still and saw that Firenze wasn't moving, Harry ran up next to him and tapped his shoulder. To his horror Firenze fell over on the ground and Harry could see that there was a hole that had gone straight through him, he knew that there was no chance that Firenze could be alive. Harry felt the feeling go out of his legs, he suddenly felt very scared, he picked himself up and ran to the safe house as fast as he could, knowing he had let Hagrid down.   
  
  
  
  



	10. Return to Safety

Harry Potter and the Dark Lord's Castle  
Return to Safety  
  
When Harry got back to the safe house he was surprised to see that it was crowded, the entire house seemed to be packed with wizards. As Harry surveyed the scene he could see several people he knew, he saw Professors Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, Sprout and Flitwick. He also saw Arthur Weasley, Remus Lupin, Mad-eye Moody and Sirius Black. They all looked very sober and distraught, when Harry first walked in he assumed that it must be for Hagrid but Harry saw Hagrid on the bed being tended to by Madam Pomfrey. When the people inside noticed Harry they let out a collective gasp. Sirius practically jumped on other people's heads trying to get to him; Dumbledore looked at him with a disappointed look that made his inside writhe. Sirius came over to him and enfolded him in a hug, he was holding him so tight that Harry suspected that he was trying to ensure that Harry wouldn't try and leave. Snape, who happened to be next to him, took this moment to speak his mind.  
"You foolish boy! Why didn't you listen to my note, it said DO NOT LEAVE THIS ROOM!" Snape yelled the last part; everyone in the room was instantly silenced. They all stared at Snape in surprise but to Harry's disappointment no one came to his rescue; even Sirius who had his arm around Harry didn't say a word. Harry suspected that this was because everyone in the room agreed with Snape. Harry, who had decided that he would not talk back to Snape, forgot his own advice and answered,  
"But Hagrid was in trouble, I thought that he would die if I didn't get help." Harry looked around for support but many in the room had picked that moment to look at the floor or find some other way to avoid the hard stare of the boy.   
"You foolish brat do you know what you would have done if you had been kil-" Snape was cut off by the angry words of Albus Dumbledore.   
"Severus! Quiet, the boy is safe; there is no reason to continue this. Albeit the boy made a bad decision but he was trying to help a friend, if everyone in the world had his kind of bravery there would be no division between dark and light."  
Harry felt as though every one knew something about him, but that none of them wanted to tell him, he didn't think that now would be the best time to ask the question. He stared down at his shoes, but didn't reply, he was surprised to hear Snape speak up.  
"I'm sorry Potter, I think that maybe the lack of sleep is finally catching up with me." Harry and Sirius both stared at Snape, they both looked amazed, had Severus Snape apologized to Harry Potter. Harry decided that the lack of sleep really had caught up to Snape if he was apologizing to him.   
"I'm sorry too," He stammered out to the crowd, "I really thought that I had to help Hagrid, how is he? Will he be alright?"   
Dumbledore looked down at him; the familiar twinkle was back in his eyes.   
"Hagrid will be fine, now get some rest." Harry looked around but could see no place where he could rest, Dumbledore seemed to notice this so he pulled out his wand. Harry expected Dumbledore to conjure a bed but instead he tapped a picture on the wall three times, whispered a password 'gum drops' and a passage opened up where the wall used to be. The passage went underground all the wizards and witches walked down the path in small groups talking and muttering to each other. Harry was distinctly aware that almost everyone around him was watching him very closely, Harry avoided their glances and instead decided to concentrate on Hagrid's body, which was floating along the path in front of them, held aloft by Dumbledore's wand.   
The large group continued walking for some time until the passage finally began to turn uphill, marking the end of their walk. The group came to a stop at a dead end and opened a path; they appeared to be waiting for something, but whatever it was Harry didn't know. Slowly Dumbledore began to walk forward; he reached the dead end and prodded the wall with his wand. A hole appeared where his wand had touched it, the hole widened until the entire wall was missing, and Harry was reminded of the opening in to Diagon Alley. One by one everyone that was standing in the passageway stepped through the opening until it was Harry's turn, he stepped through and looked around in surprise, the passage led directly to Hogwarts. Harry recognized the passage he was in as the one that led to Dumbledore's office; the crowd seemed to know where they were going because each of them was heading in the direction of the Headmaster's office. They walked along for a few minutes but surprised Harry by passing Dumbledore's office and heading in to a corridor that Harry had never been to, he hadn't even seen it on the Marauder's map. As Harry and the group walked further Harry even had the distinct impression that this passageway had been recently made, Harry was getting more nervous by the minute, where were they going, and why was everyone watching him as though they were afraid he would leave again?   
The group finally stopped in front of a door that looked so normal it was almost odd, in a castle where Harry thought nothing would ever surprise him, this door did. The door looked like it would belong on a muggle's house, it was plain and red, and it had a plain brass knocker on it. Dumbledore knocked on the door three times, the door slowly opened and the group walked in; it looked to Harry like a war room. The room had a long oval table in the middle, on the table were maps that reminded Harry of the Marauder's map, it had moving dots with name tags on them, but it was of different places in the magical world. Harry saw one map of Diagon Alley, one of the Ministry of Magic and many more places that Harry couldn't identify. Dumbledore must have seen the puzzled look on Harry's face because he turned to him and began explaining.  
"Harry, first I would like to say that everything you see here is going to be kept strictly confidential, do you understand?" Harry nodded his compliance but was still looking around the room. Dumbledore continued, "Welcome to the war room of the Order of Phoenix, here is where we, as the group that works against Voldemort, plan and organize our resistance. We monitor attacks on the wizarding and muggle world and help out where we can. You probably know many of the members, but I beg you not to talk about this group to them because someone might hear you and that would mean the end of this group." Dumbledore looked at Harry but Harry said nothing so he continued. "Your parents were members and although you don't know it yet, you will one day be a member."   
At this Harry looked up, "Me? What's so special about me? I'm not even the most powerful wizard of my year." Harry looked at Dumbledore's piercing eyes and looked away. Dumbledore responded but it was not the answer Harry wished to hear,  
"You will know in time, but I can tell you this, if you die the resistance is over, you are our only hope for survival. You will need to learn the proper skills this year, so you will be taking auror classes throughout the year, you will be let out of certain classes to take these lessons. Now I must again tell you to keep this a secret from everyone, including Hermione and Ron. Harry looked at him in surprise; he had never kept a secret from his two friends. "Now I am going back to the hospital wing, Hagrid should have awoken by now, would you like to join me?"   
Dumbledore walked away and Harry followed wearily.   
  
  



End file.
